TOKYO: Key Tokyo rubber futures inched higher on Thursday, drawing support from a weaker yen and strong oil prices, but the rapid pace of price increases early this week made investors cautious, capping the upside.
FUNDAMENTALS
The key Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery rose 1.2 percent, or 5.4 yen, to 463.3 yen as of 0029 GMT, up from Wednesday's settlement price of 457.9 yen.
The Shanghai rubber market resumed trading after a two-day holiday. The most active Shanghai rubber contract for September delivery rose 1,305 yuan to close at 35,940 yuan ($5,494) per tonne on Wednesday. Volume stood at 597,070 lots.
Brent crude oil prices rose to a 2-1/2-year high above $123 a barrel on Wednesday before erasing the majority of gains in volatile trade as market players fretted the recent rally was overdone.
The yen slid to an 11-month low against the euro and a six-month low against the dollar. More losses were expected for the yen as investors such as macro hedge funds add to bearish bets, with the Bank of Japan looking set to lag other central banks in tightening policy.
MARKET NEWS
Japan's benchmark Nikkei average opened up 0.71 percent at 9,652.65 on Thursday after Japanese shares fell in the last two sessions due to growing concerns over production losses by manufacturers.
Toyota Motor Corp will begin making two more car models on April 11, taking another small step towards normalising operations after a massive earthquake in Japan disrupted its supply chain and forced most of its factories to halt work. [ID:nL3E7F610D]
Microsoft Corp and Toyota Motor Corp unveiled a plan on Wednesday to work together on bringing Internet-connected services to Toyota's cars across the world.
Saab's production line remained idle for a second day after it failed to pay some suppliers' bills, and the Dutch-owned carmaker said the stoppage could last a number of days.
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